Exciting Times Ahead & My Industry Predictions

I am really excited by the prospects of AB1. It doesn't take a genius to know that gaming is a multi billion dollar industry already but add in blockchain and you are going to get a whole new wave of players that are really interested in the collectables and investments side of the coin.

If you don't already have some form of involvement in blockchain gaming, give it a go! I hold quite a few tokens from various games (all based on Ethereum) and as a gamer it's really comforting to know that the money I invest could potentially be recovered (of course, depends on the demand).

I want to make some bold predictions for the next 2-3 years:

1) Virtual Worlds to create a huge impact on society

As VR becomes more and more accessible, I can see people spending less time outdoors, less time physically interacting with each other and instead, fully immersed in virtual worlds through VR headsets. Even without the headset component, I can see people spending time in worlds like Decentraland where they can truly be who they are, without hiding anything that they would in real life.

There's going to be positives and negatives with this. I'm even going to predict that government services will be setting up in these worlds (kids helpline for example because kids may be more open to discussing issues through a virtual character)

1a) Major companies to realise this alternate market

As a side effect, companies will start to realise they have to have presence in these places to reach the people with their advertising. If there are millions of citizens in Decentraland, they aren't outside seeing your ads on billboards. They aren't in your physical stores. So you have to go to them. The beauty of this being online is that transactions can be seamless. The citizens will be buying real products from virtual stores in a virtual world.

2) NFTs linked to real world rewards to drive interest in blockchain

It's pretty cool to have a one of a kind virtual item on the blockchain that you can use in games, across games and brag about. But what I think will happen is that collecting will eventually be tied to real world rewards. For example, a massive treasure hunt in a virtual world which can be redeemed for physical items. Spending virtual currency in a virtual McDonalds to give you Monopoly Boards you can use in real life. Collecting the entire team of players from a particular sports club to give you VIP tickets. To earn these rewards would require interaction with the sponsor's content which basically is advertising.

3) Sports & eSports to lead the way in blockchain. League of Legends to implement blockchain for skins

The first part is a no brainer. The second part is a pretty bold prediction that probably won't happen but, if I were running League of Legends I would implement it. There are already loot boxes which can be obtained through gameplay (don't have to buy). If you threw in there a bunch of limited edition skins that could only be obtained through loot boxes gained through playing and not buying, then you are going to create a huge secondary market for these skins. In turn, this means more hours played per user and more players joining. If League then created the best marketplace experience inside their own game client, then they can charge a transaction fee and profit off the trading activity.

I really wanted to say that EA Sports would step in as well. I still really want to say it. FIFA cards on the blockchain.......I'll leave it out for now.

Anyway I think we are in for a really exciting period!